Independent Review of the delivery of the Inland Rail Program

Inland Rail is an important part of building additional capability and capacity to increase the resilience of Australia's freight supply chain and meet our growing freight task—which is forecast to grow by up to 35 per cent by 2040. Read more about Inland Rail.

Up to $14.5 billion in equity and $300 million in grant funding has been committed by the Australian Government to support the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to deliver Inland Rail. While construction commenced in 2018, significant cost and schedule pressures are emerging in response to broader market constraints and macroeconomic factors.

This independent review takes a close look at the management and delivery of the Inland Rail program. Read the Terms of Reference.

Reviewer

Dr Kerry Schott is currently chair of the NSW Net Zero Emissions Board and a Member of Aware Super's Direct Assets Committee, a previous chair of the Moorebank Intermodal, a Director of NBN, Chair of the Energy Security Board, and Managing Director and CEO of Sydney Water from 2006 to 2011.

Relevant documentation

• Terms of Reference (PDF)
• Delivery of Inland Rail: An Independent Review
• Australian Government response to the independent review of Inland Rail
• Media release: Getting Inland Rail back on track

The following submissions were created by third parties and may not meet WCAG 2.0 requirements. For accessible copies, please email IR.Review@infrastructure.gov.au.

Key themes

1. ARTC governance and management arrangements for the delivery of the Inland Rail Program.
   • How could ARTC improve its management arrangements and structures to better facilitate the delivery of the Inland Rail Program?
2. The role of Inland Rail in meeting Australia's growing freight task and providing a Service Offering to meet freight sector needs.
   • How could Inland Rail and access to intermodal terminals create new opportunities and benefits for your region/industry/community?
3. The processes for the selection and refinement of the Inland Rail route and whether these processes are fit-for-purpose, including consideration of benefits and impacts.
   • Do you consider ARTC's approach to engaging communities on the route is fit-for-purpose?
   • How could ARTC improve its engagement with communities and stakeholders along the route in regard to the processes used to consider benefits and impacts?
4. The effectiveness of ARTC's community and stakeholder engagement processes, and opportunities for improvement, including ARTC's approach to addressing community concerns.
   • What has ARTC done well in engaging with communities, including addressing community concerns?
   • In what ways could ARTC improve its communication and engagement processes with communities and stakeholders?
   • How could ARTC improve its engagement with communities and stakeholders in responding to concerns?